GE sells solar panels to wind farms

This is more than a little bit of a “well, duh, somebody has to have thought of that before” thing, but I can’t recall anybody actually proposing it prior to this: installing solar panels in (or next to) a wind farm facility.

The biggest problems (other than cost) for wind and solar energy is that they’re both inconsistent and produce more energy in areas that tend to be unpopulated.  This means that they require large capital costs to build power storage and transmission infrastructure in order for them to function like gas/coal/oil power plants, which can be turned up or down as needed and can be built right next to where the power’s needed.

So GE and Invenergy have teamed up to construct a solar facility right next to a wind farm in Illinois, allowing the two facilities to use the same transmission lines and support each other in their respective low-production periods.  Efficient, no?  Like I said, I’m wondering why I can’t recall hearing about this before.  Other than my memory being faulty (which it is, sadly) are there reasons this hasn’t been done up till now?

Hollow cylindrical design could improve solar cells’ efficiency

Luminescent solar concentrator cells are one method of improving the efficiency of a solar cell: converting the light hitting the cell into a particular wavelength, and using a photovoltaic cell tuned to convert light of that particular wavelength into electricity.  A new way of designing the concentrator cells is, instead of making them into flat sheets like traditional solar panels, form them into hollow cylinders, which apparently significantly increases their efficiency.

CES continues(!), sunflower-inspired solar-thermal systems, and many other things

Technology

• The FAA is being sued to reveal who has gotten permits to fly drones above 400ft within the US.  This isn’t an attempt to further the use of civilian drones (it’s an anti-Big Brother move), but it may push the FAA into changing the permitting rules.
• And again, uses keep popping up for small drones; this time the UAF is using a dinner-plate-sized quadrotor to analyze the ice in front of a fuel tanker on its way to Nome, Alaska.
• Smart homes are getting a bit closer every day – CES just saw a demo of Apple’s Siri semi-AI controlling a number of household devices.
• Here’s a shocker:  The US government is taking steps to try to improve the security of the energy grid.
• I’ve seen the idea of using micron-scale capsules of liquid metal or nanoparticles to create self-repairing materials, but they’re back in the news again.

Military

• The US military’s drone war in Pakistan is back online, despite the tensions created by “friendly” fire incidents.
• Stealth tech keeps getting more and more elaborate.  This article in PopSci talks about a fluid cloak for submarines, and this one about low-heat-signature tanks.

Space

• Phobos-Grunt, the failed Russian Mars probe, is set to crash and burn into the Indian Ocean this Sunday.

Health

• Do we really need doctors?  Or just smarter computers to make medical diagnoses?  An interesting question, posed by a writer at Tech Crunch
• And speaking of machines doing healthcare work…  CES has shown off some mobile health apps:  a blood sugar monitor app and a blood oxygen monitor app.
• Another possible “exercise in a pill” chemical has been found.

Energy/Mining/Resources

• Mineweb has an interesting interview transcript up, focusing on graphite, vanadium, and manganese supplies and usage.
• NASA’s been funding studies on improving aircraft fuel efficiency, and they’ve just said that the technologies that they’ve been working on could reduce aircraft fuel use by 50%.
• There’s a new kind of LED that’s set to come out, which is smaller and has better light quality than the ones currently on the market.  There are also a number of new bulbs coming out.
• Forbes has an article comparing the pros and cons of electric vehicles and natural gas vehicles.
• Manymany articles out today on a new design for solar-thermal power plants, inspired by the sunflower:  R&D Magazine  IEEE Spectrum  Wired.co.uk  PhysOrg  MSNBC  Science Daily
• A startup in India is using rice husks and other agricultural waste products to power thousands of residences in rural India.  More power to them (sorry, couldn’t help the pun), I hope their business model can successfully continue to expand.

Environment/Agriculture

• A new photovoltaic solar system is being tested, in combination with a greenhouse, that will allow light through the panels in the winter, when the plants need it, and convert some of it to energy in the summer, when they don’t.
• I mentioned incentives yesterday, here’s another example:  Conservationists are getting increasingly agitated about the increased rate of whaling these days; legal processes don’t seem to work, and illegal ones (Sea Shepherd, for example) don’t have much effect either.  So one bright fellow suggested that whaling be governed by quotas like the ones that some countries have set up for catching fish – whalers would have to bid for the right to catch whales, except that in this idea, conservationists would be able to bid as well in order to keep the whalers from catching so many whales.

Miscellaneous

• Weird biology story:  The w0rld’s smallest vertebrate has been announced:  A frog, that’s dwarfed by a dime.

Civilian drones, hacking cars, sensor sleeves, robot farms, and more

Technology

• One of the things that I’m going to be keeping an eye on this year is the legal status of civilian drone use.  The reason I bring this up is that Sea Shepherd (the vigilante anti-whaling group) has received permission from the Australian government to use drones to track the Japanese whaling fleet.
• Speaking of civvie surveillance drones… here are some toy versions for making mischief.
• And, lest we forget, there are certain improvements that have to be made for drones to work in busy airspaces and around cities.  Like avoiding other aircraft and knowing what spots are safe for an emergency landing.
• Smart traffic lights – they’re a dream for planners and commuters, and a nightmare for people who deal with them when they glitch.  Still, maybe if they have something that tells them what’s at the intersection, that’ll help a little.
• A new pathway for cybercrime (and possibly assassination): hacking your car.  Seriously, if you hook a car up to the internet, this will happen.  Who, when, where, why, and how aren’t possible to determine, but it will happen.  Really doesn’t make me look forward to buying my next car…
• Sleeves that track your arm movements, another way for people and companies to improve productivity.
• Connect your home appliances, thermostat, power and water supply, etc, to a single electrical monitoring system, which you can access and control via the internet.  This is a smart home, and we’re likely to see more and better in the coming decade or two.

Military

• Oh hey, I was talking about the US military’s budget plans yesterday, and here they are in the news:  Wired and DefenseTech have articles on Obama’s and Panetta’s plans for the military.  They were also on the network news quite a bit, too.

Space

• There’s been some chatter on the blogosphere about the USAF X-37B spaceplane spying on China’s space station/lab.  Not sure if it’s legit concerns or just a bit of noise that lacks real substance.

Health

• An electronic contact lens that measures blood sugar and relays the information wirelessly.   Useful news for all the diabetics out there.

Energy/Mining/Resources

• Chinese airlines have decided that they aren’t going to pay the EU’s airline emissions tax.  We’ll see if this results in any meaningful penalties.
• Plug-and-play household-scale solar panels, with an inverter and power outlet built in.  You can literally plug an extension cord into one and power a device with it.  Now if they’d only keep going down in price…

Environment/Agriculture

• Interesting.  Japan has started making plans for a robotic farm in areas hit by the tsunami last year.  I might be surprised, but this is Japan.  You kind of start to expect them to come up with interesting new robotics ideas.
• The US is experiencing a snow drought this winter.  What sort of effects can we expect from this?

Miscellaneous

• Yet another “Weirdest title of the day” award:  Can Mountain Dew Really Dissolve a Mouse Carcass?

Energy, Mining, and Resources links, 12/23/11

More talk about how water is going to be a huge crisis point sometime down the road:

• http://bigthink.com/ideas/41563

80% of Brazil’s latest power supply auction (to provide power to the government) bids were for wind power:

• http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/12/wind-makes-up-80-of-contracts-in-brazils-latest-power-auction

USGov approves new nuclear reactor design:

•     http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/US_approves_new_nuclear_plant_design_999.html
•     http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/12/us-approves-a-new-nuclear-reactor-design.ars

A Hawaiian windfarm using batteries to smooth out its power production:

•     http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-57347037-54/hawaii-wind-farm-leans-on-giant-battery-bank/
•     http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2011/12/wind-power-project-to-be-supplied-with-a123-battery-system.html

Apple’s designs and patents of fuel-cells for laptops:

•     http://techland.time.com/2011/12/23/apple-posits-fuel-cell-powered-laptops/
•     http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-57347294-54/apple-fuel-cell-patent-applications-envision-weeks-without-refueling/
•     http://www.extremetech.com/computing/110229-apple-is-researching-fuel-cell-powered-computers
•     http://inhabitat.com/patent-application-reveals-apple-is-researching-fuel-cells-for-macbooks/

A battery that runs on paper:

•     http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-12/eco-friendly-battery-runs-old-newspapers
•     http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57346210-1/sony-develops-battery-powered-by-paper/
•     http://www.gizmag.com/sony-paper-fueled-battery/20917/

Nano-engineered solar-power paint:

• http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2011/12/21/Energy-producing-solar-paint-invented/UPI-13361324509457/
• http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111221211324.htm
• http://goodcleantech.pcmag.com/solar-energy/292002-solar-cells-you-can-paint-on
• http://www.gizmag.com/notre-dame-solar-paint/20925/
• http://www.nanotech-now.com/news.cgi?story_id=44156
• http://www.rdmag.com/News/2011/12/Energy-Nanotechnology-Solar-paint-uses-nanoparticles-to-produce-energy/
• http://cen.acs.org/articles/89/web/2011/12/Solar-Cells-Paintbrush.html